BELLFLOWER : Jurors’ Names Ordered Revealed in 2nd Such Case
Superior Court judge has ordered that the names of jurors in a Bellflower trial be revealed, marking the second time in two months that judges from the court’s appellate branch have halted efforts by lower court judges to keep jurors’ names secret.
Tuesday’s decision by Judge Abby Soven applies to a case before Bellflower Municipal Judge Philip K. Mautino. On Sept. 20, Judge Robert L. Roberson ruled that jurors’ names must be revealed in a case before Downey Municipal Judge John David Lord.
The Downey case is scheduled for argument before a state appeals court Dec. 21. Principal Deputy County Counsel Daniel E. McCoy, who represents both judges, said he will file a similar appeal in the Bellflower case.
Mautino and Lord have drawn national attention for their attempts to conduct criminal trials with anonymous juries. State law offers jurors anonymity once a trial is over, but the judges have said that the law is meaningless unless jurors can opt for anonymity at the beginning.
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